Sharing the group stage with Brazil is no picnic, but Mexico has high expectations for World Cup 2014, despite facing the favorites in the first phase of the competition. The North Americans will be playing for the second place, with Croatia being the most dangerous foe, but Cameroon shouldn't be underestimated either. Bookmakers are not particularly confident in their chances of winning the tournament, and the odds of 101 to 1 speak for themselves.
This makes little difference for coach Miguel Herrera whose objective is much less ambitious and is expected to receive a hero's welcome if he makes it past the group stage. The Mexicans have a squad that is pretty experience, yet they will need to make the most of an eclectic mix of veterans and newcomers. It won't be easy and it will all come down to how well they play against Croatia and Cameroon.
Group stage and event prospects
Mexico qualified for the World Cup relatively easy, but they will play against far better teams that play aggressive football. Cameroon is less effective in their own half but have a couple of players capable of penetrating Mexico's aging defense, while Croatia is lethal inside the box. It goes without saying, that Brazil will be attacking in all three games, while their opponents will frantically defend for 90 minutes.
Their chances of winning the group stage are slim to none, but the real challenge is to simply outshine Croatia and Cameroon, an event priced at 2.20 by Bet365. It is very likely that the duel between Croatia and Mexico will be a coin flip, so as long as they are not intimidated by the African nation, punters might find this wager appealing. The North Americans can take their opponents by surprise, as Herrera is using an original starting formation that served him well during the qualification phase.
Key players for Mexico at the World Cup
It was pretty difficult for Mexico to score goals on its road to the World Cup but they could catch a lucky break against the likes of Cameroon and Croatia. Their strikers are their best asset and the one that will spend a lot of time in the spotlight is Hernandez who has played for several seasons with Manchester United. He wasn't particularly successful with his club, but he didn't get too many opportunities to shine, so he will try to make the most of the World Cup 2014.
As long as injuries don't keep him off the pitch, Chicharito will be a permanent threat to all opponents and he could even score against Brazil. There are many questions about how midfielders and defenders would perform as most of them play in South America. Only a handful have experience at this level, with captain Rafael Marquez being the one who played most games for Mexico at the World Cup. The team doesn't have discipline problems, but this could appear if things don't go according to the plan.
The bottom line
Mexico has a chance at surviving the group stage and even value odds are not to be discarded without a second thought. On the other hand, it is risky to bet on Hernandez to be the top scorer in Brazil, despite the fact that Bet365 offers great odds of 67.00. He is indeed the best striker, but fitness concerns and the fact that he misses many opportunities to score, are additional arguments against this wager.
